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Left rudder hard ye matees, it be an American flagged vessal ahead!
Just a few weeks ago I suggested that we should just give the pirates our ships - bullets first, ARRGH!. The notion was that there is no particular reason that American sailors on US flagged ships should have to leave the same guns they carry hunting and while shopping at the mall at home just because they are going to sea through say, pirate infested waters off Somalia.
And now comes a Washington Times Editorial entitled "Arming sailors Gun-free zones are dangerous at sea." Quoting Richard Phillips, the heroic captain of the crew that fought off pirates on the Maersk Alabama a month ago, the Washington Times agreed that "armed crews 'should be part of the overall debate about how to defend ourselves against criminals on the seas.'"
And its not surprising that the mainstream media and Congress is receptive to proposals to expand gun rights. After all, the public's support for gun control is at an all time low. Meanwhile an overwhelming number of Americans believe citizens have the right to own guns.
And after all, what's the point of owning guns if you can't carry them around with you. And to sea.
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Comments
Hi-ho, hi-ho, it's armed to sea I go.
To sail some ships and shoot some guys, hi-ho, hi-ho.
I hear Davy Jones Locker still has vacancies and looking for new tenants.
Ex shipboard Merchant Marine radio officer here, when u have but 24 guys on a ship sailing off Malacca or Somalia and Aden it'd be nice to be able to protect oneself from the pirate guys that know there's no weapons aboard currently.
If firearms are appropriate for defending against pirates at sea, they are eminently appropriate for defending against thugs and statists (landlubbing pirates) ashore.
Hi Ho, a retired seaman my self, while i served aboard the Mallory Lykes up and down the west coast of south america the pirates hit us in Buenaventura Coloumbia one trip.The only time and the only guard on the ship had a 410 pistol.The pirates and the guard were shooting at each other.All we had were radio's.They hit us almost every trip.Would have been glad to have had a gun.
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